An Eighth Shot of Espresso: Coffee and Creativity on Mum's Third Shift

how does loving a person  actually feel?  the bond  that stretches  between two people  your heart  still races  whenever your eyes meet  the warmth  that remains even if they're not present the connection that endures all through the long years  the harmony  of two souls  that are meant for each other

Every day  we avoid  each other's eyes  because the truth  is too difficult  to say aloud:  You've become  my bad habit  my comfortable  buffer against  a rather harsh  reality  If I don't think too hard I don't have to confront this inevitable truth If we speak  the illusion  will shatter  and the reality  is too awful  to contemplate

We picked up  the sofa  abandoned  at the side of the curb.  The tired cushions  had seen  much better days  the ruffle flat  like a wilted flower  My sewing machine  whirs for hours  gives it new life  new upholstery  to brighten our old room What is thrown at the side of the curb has been transformed given new life and new purpose

One little acorn  centuries ago  grows into  a majestic  oak  tree  It has  seen kings  come and go  wars waged  and lost  generations  married under  its sturdy trunk  and overreaching  branches  beliefs change pieces of it as souvenirs now its roots will be saved What more  will it see  if it survives  the hubris  of modern man?

No one ever looks closely  at the face of a spider  what does it see  with its many eyes  as it closes in  on its lovely prize?  No one ever looks closely  at the face of the fly  what does it see  with its many eyes  as doom closes in  knowing it will die? 

I see her fire  determined   to make a difference  in the future  the pride fills me  as she tells me  her hopes and dreams  as she holds a pen  in one hand  and a ballot  in the other They cheer for this is her first time at the polls they even snap her picture I stand there proud for her she takes her civic duty  so very seriously